NEWS

News from the UK

 - Number of UK-Trained nurses is up, but number of overseas nurses down

 - More Doctors and Nurses working in the NHS than ever before

 - NHS must double nursing recruits

 - UK Urged to Stop Poaching Health Workers

 - German Doctors to Cover Weekend Shifts

 - New Weapon Against MRSA Discovered

 - Caribbean NHS book

News From the Philippines

 - Japan May be a Possible Destination for Nurses and Caregivers

News from Australia

 - UK Pharmacists Helping with Shortage

News From the USA

 - Shortage of nurse educators

News From Canada

 - Canadian Nursing Schools being Forced To Cut Enrolment

News from Africa

- Zimbabwe Recruiting Foreign Doctors

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News from the UK

Number of UK-Trained nurses is up, but number of overseas nurses down.

Figures Released show an increase in UK trained nurses but a decrease in the number of overseas nurses. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has reported that the number of UK-trained nurses and midwives has increased but the number of overseas nurses registering to work in Britain has experienced a significant decline.

According to the NMC, the provisional figures for the twelve months to the end of March 2005, show that 20,588 nurses and midwives who trained in the UK joined the register. This represents a 6% increase from the previous year and is the highest figure since the early 1990s.

The number of overseas nurses entering the NMC register was 11,499 compared to 14,122 the previous year, a reduction of 19%. This is the lowest figure since 2000/2001.

There has been active recruitment from countries including India, the Philippines and South Africa, which has in the past enabled the NHS to achieve its growth targets, however, this reduction in the number of overseas nurses has now raised fears that expansion of the NHS workforce may be curtailed.

The latest figures also show that more than a quarter of UK registered nurses are over 50 and thinking about retirement, raising further concerns about the recruitment and retention of nurses in the NHS.

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More Doctors and Nurses working in the NHS than ever before.

There are more Doctors and Nurses working in the NHS then ever before according to the annual NHS census. The latest figures show that in 2004, the NHS recruited an extra 8,000 doctors (7,200 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts), 11,200 nurses (10,500 WTE) and 3,000 allied health professionals (2,600 WTE).

The census also showed that between September 2003 and September 2004:

 - There were more doctors in training to be GPs than ever before

 - 1,900 more consultants – largest ever increase

 - 1,200 more GPs – largest ever increase

-  900 more midwives – largest ever increase

 - Last year, a total of 48,200 people joined the NHS (44,200 WTE).

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NHS must double nursing recruits

The NHS will need to double the number of nurses it recruits if it is to maintain current staffing levels, a union has warned. Despite a recruitment push, thousands of nurses are leaving the health service every year out of dissatisfaction with working conditions, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said.

In the past year, 20,000 UK trained nurses have been recruited with another 12,000 coming in from overseas. However, 50,000 nurses have left or retired. If, as predicted, this annual shortfall rises to 25,000 in the coming years, 66,000 new recruits a year would be needed just to keep the workforce constant – double the current number.

The RCN report, entitled UK Nursing Labour Market, said nurses were leaving the profession because of inflexible working hours, fear of violence and changes to the pension scheme. The report said nurses from abroad made up 45 per cent of NHS recruitment since 2001. It added that the level of new entrants from the UK had dropped in 1997/8 due to reductions in funding for students but had steadily increased since then.

Dr Beverly Malone, chief executive of the RCN, said the Government not only had to concentrate on bringing in more nurses but in keeping them in as well.

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UK Urged to Stop Poaching Health Workers

The British Medical Association (BMA) has said that lives are being lost in the developing world because Britain and the US are poaching health workers. Countries struggling with the HIV/AIDS epidemic are facing massive shortages in healthcare staff and the BMA has warned that further shortages will cause death rates in these countries to rise even further.

The organisation, in conjunction with the Royal College of Nursing and medical associations in the US, Canada and South Africa, said that efforts to combat global health problems were being undermined by the skills drain from countries that do not have sufficient medical workforces.

NHS hospitals are currently banned from recruiting directly from developing countries, but the many doctors and nurses who make their own way to Britain can be legitimately hired.

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German Doctors to Cover Weekend Shifts.

A North East Trust is so short of doctors that it is flying over German doctors to care for patients, it emerged today. British GPs are opting out of weekend shifts, leaving Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust critically short of doctors.

German doctors are now being brought in by an agency to cover the weekend shifts in a bid to solve the crisis. The agency said it tries to use local doctors wherever possible but occasionally uses fully qualified agency doctors from abroad who are familiar with the area. A spokesman for Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust stressed that prices agreed with the agency were unchanged and that bringing in doctors from abroad was not costing patients extra.

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New Weapon Against MRSA Discovered

NHS bosses claim to have found a new weapon against the superbug MRSA, they claim that a particular honey from Australia prevents wounds becoming infected and can clear infections.

Anthony Maloney from Medihoney said: "A couple of teaspoons of the honey in a glass of water would knock out the worst bug in hospitals today”.

Trials at Aintree Hospital, Liverpool, showed it can fight pain and heal wounds quickly. The Department of Health said: "We welcome any help in preventing infection”.

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Caribbean NHS book

Report by Kofi Kramo , NMC UK

Sugar media is a publishing company seeking nurses, midwives and other health professionals of Caribbean origin to contribute to a NHS book. The publication will record the experiences and commitment of those from the Caribbean who helped set up the foundations for today’s NHS, during its formative years between 1948 and 1969. The book will be commercially published in October 2005 with free copies circulated to careers services and organisations that help young people make career decisions.

“The NHS is a real living organisation and its workforce must reflect the population it serves in order to deliver appropriate services to all communities. This important project will not only ensure that the contribution of this key group of staff is preserved for the future, but will also play a valuable part in encouraging future generations to consider a career in the NHS”, stated NHS Chief Executive Sir Nigel Crisp.

To submit your story or to be involved in the project please use the below Sugar Media contacts.

Laura@sugarmedia.co.uk

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News From the Philippines

Japan May be a Possible Destination for Nurses and Caregivers

Filipino nurses and caregivers may soon find Japan an alternative destination to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. An 11-man Japanese delegation led by Senator Hirohiko Nakamura was recently in Manila for a four-day visit to discuss with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas and other agency heads the possibility of creating employment opportunities for nurses and caregivers in Japan.

At a recent press conference, it was said that Nakamura has authored a bill that would pave the way for the entry of Filipino caregivers and nurses to Japan. His bill might be passed sometime this year.

Nakamura said Japan needs more than 200 caregivers for both children and adults and said that Filipino caregivers and nurses could earn as much as P100,000 monthly, inclusive of board and lodging, under a three to four-year contract.

However, do not rush to sign any contracts. The POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) has warned that there are no jobs for Filipino caregivers and nurses in Japan yet. “Do not be fooled by any person offering caregiver and nursing jobs in Japan. The POEA has not approved any job order for the said categories and the Japanese Diet is yet to pass a law that will regulate the entry of caregivers and other health workers to Japan.”

News from Australia

UK Pharmacists Helping with Shortage

When Paul Watkins, pharmacist and owner at Monaghan's Healthwise Pharmacy couldn't find an employee in Australia he decided to find staff overseas. With the assistance of a UK pharmacist with experience working in Australia, Mr Watkins spent a week in February doing presentations at pharmacy colleges in London, promoting Victoria, and more specifically Warrnambool, as a fantastic place to live and work. "Pharmacists are really, really hard to get, there's a massive shortage in Australia," Mr Watkins said. "It was actually cheaper for us to go overseas and do our own recruiting than pay an agency here in Australia."

Now Mr. Watkins has three overseas employees - Sab Shah from the UK and Arlene McLean and Claudia Conetta from Scotland. Mr Shah, whose time in Warrnambool draws to a close next week, said the two months he had spent here so far had been better than he could have hoped. "I'm seriously considering looking into coming back to Australia when I get home," he said. Miss McLean and Miss Conetta arrived on Sunday and will be here for another three months. All have said they have loved the weather, the friendly people and the relaxed lifestyle.

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News from the USA

Shortage of nurse educators

As most are aware, there is a global nursing shortage. Now, a new problem is rearing its head. Health officials are now concerned that soon there won't be enough instructors to teach future nurses. Mississippi is one of the states in the USA that is affected by this.

In a survey conducted this spring in all 21 Mississippi nursing schools, 11 unfilled faculty positions were reported, and almost 100 are expected to be vacant in two years. Some of those nurses will retire, but others will leave nursing education for better-paying jobs. Also, it is expected that fewer students will choose nursing education as a career.

One Jones County Junior College nursing instructor has warned that this could mean big trouble for health care education.

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News from Canada

Canadian Nursing Schools being Forced To Cut Enrolment

A federal report says Canadian nursing schools are being forced to cut enrolment despite a critical shortage of nurses in all health-care sectors. The report, described as the most comprehensive ever done on Canada's nursing work force, says the shortage is affecting quality, especially in long-term care. But it says many nursing schools aren't getting enough money from the provinces to adequately train the students they already have.

Nursing representatives say there has been little improvement in working conditions despite the $41-billion health care agreement announced by first ministers last year. Provinces, which have jurisdiction over health care delivery, have been reluctant to embrace a national strategy on nursing resources. The study says wealthy provinces can attract nurses by recruiting from poorer provinces and countries, but that's not ethical or sustainable.

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News from Africa

Zimbabwe Recruiting Foreign Doctors

The Herald (Harare)

April 28, 2005

The Government is in the process of recruiting doctors and medical specialists from Cuba and Egypt to ease the shortage of medical personnel in the country, Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa has said. "We want to get as many as we can get. There is a need to fill up all vacant positions to improve health service delivery, particularly in the rural areas. We are looking for general medical practitioners, specialists, technicians, engineers and nursing school tutors," Dr Parirenyatwa told Irin, a United Nations news agency.

Dr David Parirenyatwa said teams from Zimbabwe were already in Havana, Cuba, scouting for as many doctors as they could. The Government, he revealed, was also negotiating with Egypt on prospects for the recruitment of medical personnel from that country. He lamented the continued loss of trained medical personnel to neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana and overseas job markets, which offered better opportunities and conditions of service. "We are still losing personnel, but I am sure the new Health Services Commission, which will soon take over the responsibility of recruiting medical personnel, will strive to improve working conditions and remuneration, so that we can retain and even attract more skilled staff," Dr Parirenyatwa added.

The Health Services Commission, which is expected to come into effect soon, would craft the health workers' conditions of service in consultation with associations and organisations representing health service personnel. It is also expected to address the grading of health personnel which has been a contentious issue for some time now. Before the gazetting of the Health Services Bill, health workers and other support staff in the Ministry were under the Public Service Commission along with other civil servants.

Nurses have always been complaining over irregularities brought about by that arrangement saying there was not much difference between the earnings of a student and qualified nurse.

Brain drain is threatening to cripple the country's health system, which has attracted high acclaim on the continent. It is estimated that at least 55 percent of the country's doctors' posts and 40 percent of the 11 640 nurses' posts were vacant by end of last year. Dr Parirenyatwa also expressed concern on a trend that is developing where student nurses were abandoning their courses midway to escape the three-year "bonding" period they are required to serve before they can receive their certificates.

Government introduced the bonding arrangement last year as a way of reducing the exodus of staff, including newly trained personnel, to countries offering better pay and working conditions.

According to the report, the latest batch of foreign doctors is expected to arrive within the next two months to join the 204 expatriates already working in Zimbabwe. At present there are 127 Cuban doctors in the country - the largest contingent - and 77 from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The shortage of medical personnel has badly affected rural health institutions, which also face chronic shortages of basic medicines.

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International Nurses Day 2005

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. You can find information about Florence Nightingale on the Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) website.

This year's theme is:

"Nurses for Patient Safety: Targeting Counterfeit and Substandard Medicines"

The International Council of Nurses (ICN), realising that counterfeit medicines are becoming a serious threat to patient safety, has chosen to focus on this topic for International Nurses Day (12 May 2005) and has produced a useful tool kit on counterfeit medicines.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that counterfeit medicines make up more than 10% of the global medicines available in the market and are available in both developed and developing countries.

ICN is working to inform nurses and to provide them with the tools to tackle this problem. The ICN tool kit provides useful tools and advice for nurses, alongside an outline of the current situation and useful facts and figures about counterfeit medicines.

For the ICN Tool Kit, Click here: http://www.icn.ch/indkit2005.pdf

Further information can be found at: http://www.icn.ch/indkit.htm

New Zealand Celebrations: Almost 40,000 nurses in New Zealand have been celebrating International Nurses Day. New Zealand Nurses Organisation CEO Geoff Annals says “our nurses have an ongoing responsibility to assist nursing colleagues in countries where these problems exist”.

He says “a special responsibility for New Zealand nurses, given that neither substandard nor counterfeit medicine is a major problem in this country, is to further explore the six major links to patient safety as they do relate to New Zealand.

The first link is identifying and using safe medicine safely; the second link acknowledges the relationship between an adequate reward for good nursing care and patient safety; the third link involves safe staffing levels. As staff levels drop, so inevitably does patient safety. The fourth link refers to care for the elderly; the most critical factor at present is insufficient funding; the fifth link is the Multiple Employer Collective Agreement (MECA), which sets a nationwide standard of pay, of training, of consistency in safe patient care. The last link is ongoing learning and research,” Geoff Annals says.

He says “the New Zealand amended theme of Nurses for Patient Safety embracing these six main links are vital to ensuring that New Zealanders can continue to have the confidence in their nursing care that those soldiers in Crimea did.

“The good will, the dedication, the expertise is there. We can all celebrate that!”

Let us know how you celebrated International Nurses Day: info@21stcenturynurse.com

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21st Century Nurse Visitors

This month we welcome new visitors from Brunei Darussalam, Uzbekistan and Salvador. The majority of our visitors so far this month  are from the UK, USA, Philippines and Australia. To see more information about our visitors and the 21st Century Nurse Map, please Click Here.

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Discussion Board

We have had some more queries posted on our discussion board. New topics include questions about pay scales in New Zealand and Salaries in Germany - if you think you can help or if you feel you would like to get something off your chest, check it out and leave your comments! 21st Century Nurse Discussion

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Paraskavedekatriaphobia

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Joke of the Month

A circus owner walked into a bar to see everyone crowded about a table watching a little show. On the table was an upside down pot and a duck tap dancing on it. The circus owner was so impressed that he offered to buy the duck from its owner. After some wheeling and dealing, they settled for $10,000 for the duck and the pot.

Three days later the circus owner runs back to the bar in anger, "Your duck is a rip-off! I put him on the pot before a whole audience, and he didn't dance a single step!"

"So?" asked the ducks former owner, "did you remember to light the candle under the pot?"

This month's joke is courtesy of:

♫Triola.org   music for children ♫

If you have a joke you would like to share with others, please email it to us at info@21stcenturynurse.com  

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We hope you enjoyed the 21st Century Nurse Experience. Until next time!